AETI and L-3 Westwood to Deliver Power Systems

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

L-3 Westwood has contracted AETI to develop custom-built, commercially oriented marine switchgear for the two separate projects totaling slightly more than $5 million. The end customers are VT Halter Marine, a domestic ship engineering and construction company in the , and affiliates of AHL Shipping Company, a petroleum product transportation company that provides double hull tankers to the domestic petroleum industry.

L-3 will provide twin shaft line electric propulsion systems to affiliates of AHL Shipping Company for the building of three, shallow-draft, 49,000 deadweight ton Jones Act and OPA90-compliant chemical product tankers in connection with a charter agreement with Shell Trading (U.S.) Company (Shell Trading). The vessels will have a cargo capacity of 330,000 barrels.

These vessels will also be the first Jones Act tankers to be constructed under the Common Structural Rules adopted by the International Association of Classification Societies, which came into effect in April 2006.

AETI will work with L-3 to provide the propulsion power distribution systems along with the secondary power distribution systems. Deliveries for VT Halter Marine are expected to be completed by late-2008 and the multiple deliveries for AHL Tanker are scheduled for completion by the end of 2010. AETI will have recognized approximately $2.8 million in sales on these projects through the 3rd quarter of 2008.